I’m Topaz and I’m a plant-based vegan. I started my vegan journey in 2016 when I attended my local vegfest and watched a horrible documentary on animal cruelty. After that event, I couldn’t look at meat the same. I was already a vegetarian at that time but with the enlightening news that milk, cheese, and eggs are just as abusive to animals as meat production, I knew I had to get rid of them too.

I stay vegan because of the health and justice implications. I see eating cheese, milk and eggs as a related to feminist issues. When we rape and impregnate female cows for milk, I see that as equally destructive as the rap and impregnation of female humans. I like to see the intersections of these issues. I am a deep believer of collective liberation: the idea that we are not free until ALL of us are free. The same goes for my health. I see living a plant-based vegan lifestyle as a logical step towards extending my life expectancy as a Black American woman. The black community often suffers from illnesses and diseases that are brought on by our current American diet and easily preventable (and sometimes treatable) with a plant-based diet. My 99 year old grandmother is my inspiration. I’d love to make it 100 years old and live a life that is fulfilled, free of cruelty, and plant based.

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